Pier 23 neon sign

I'm always happy to see a well-maintained neon sign in this city. 

Colorful and spiny

 These are detail views of Pulse Portal by Davis McCarty in San Francisco's Big Art Loop.

Triple Glass Arch

 These are three views of Mareas, a public artwork by Ana Teresa Fernández.

Tribute to Stauffacher Solomon

I believe this work is a tribute to Barbara Stauffacher Solomon, whose Supergraphics at the Sea Ranch won numerous awards.

Levi Plaza Water Features

ALL of the water features at Levi Plaza were operating today!  I enjoyed the cool shade and soothing water sounds of this fountain...

I briefly had the paths to myself, but was soon joined by children running circuits through the paths over and through the ponds. 

The reds of the stone and bricks felt especially vivid in the midday sun.

 

Giro di San Francisco

It's been so long since I RODE in the Giro di San Francisco that I forgot it was taking place on Labor Day!  The weather was hot, but the riders were fast. 

Around Pier 15

 

Even without going INSIDE the Exploratorium (an interactive science museum), there is much to see.

The sort of abstract I would draw with acrylic ink

 

More scenes of Ocean Beach (6 September 2026)

Despite the wind, it was GREAT to spend a few hours on the beach. 

Sunset Dunes Murals (6 September 2026)

The pavement of Sunset Dunes Park has islands of colorful, horizontal murals.  They're fun! So cheerful. 

Watching wind riders (6 September 2026)

Late Saturday afternoon, the wind was fierce at Ocean Beach - the sand was blown hard enough to sting, and I was tempted to text friends about joining me so they could get their skin exfoliated naturally for FREE!  But this was good for all the flavors of windsurfing that exist.

Three people had their windfoils and were riding close to shore.  It was fun to watch!

I got to watch the complex effort required to get into the surf with your sail up - it didn't look easy.  Cool once they were up, but not easy at all.

Learning about shipbuilding

I visited Building 12 at Potrero Point yesterday, and learned that the ship building facilities there had an entire floor of that building devoted to scaling up drawings of the steel plates for the ship and making them out of what appeared to be heavy paper, before sending them down to be applied to steel plate and cut.  I'm choosing now to think of ships as just very large items of clothing. :D

 

In addition to the historic information, there is always a good exhibit with a few works by several artists in the main lobby just north of the red stairwell.  I'm always happy to take a detour to see what is on view.

Putting the ah in dahlia

I picked up several bouquets of dahlias Tuesday and shared them with my team: here the mine as of Saturday morning, in golden early morning light... 

Autumn arrives (3 September 2026)

The signs of autumn have been piling up for weeks, and now we've had a day with proper rain.  It's here! 

NoPa and what would be East of the Park walk (29 August 2026)

I left the fog bank dominating my neighborhood and went looking at Victorians in the NoPa (north of the park) area, and also east of it.  SO MANY ADORABLE HOUSES!  I enjoyed it, even though only south-facing buildings were lit the way I wanted. 

Local iris

The complexity of flowers can be so pleasing... 

Bay foam (filter fun)

The patterns foam makes on the surface of water is nearly as good as reflections...  These are versions of the foam in unnatural colors thanks to an app.  I have a set of favorite unnatural colors to apply, and enjoy looking at them. 

Thurdsday night sunset (27 August 2026)

It feels like autumn now!  My neighbor's plum tree is losing its leaves, the nights are warmer, the mornings are darker... 

Duboce Park and thereabouts

The sun broke through the clouds in the afternoon, so I went out to scope out photography subjects with my Lomo Instant Wide Glass camera and a half neutral-density filter starting at Duboce Park.  The camera can handle both Instax Mini and (with a different back) Instax Square film.  I was more in a Mini mood, and meandered north and east from the park, which has many lovely homes adjacent to it.

I primarily looked at Victorian-style homes, especially those that are colorful or have unusual detailing.  That was fun!  This subject is well-received on my Lomohome to my pleasant surprise.  However, I have to manually scan the prints, and still have a box from May 2025 awaiting scanning, so it could be a while.

It was strange to feel like I was baking in the sun, and then return home on the streetcar and emerge back in a fog belt.  I had to change clothes from sweating so much!  But the walk was pleasant and I saw some houses I hadn't seen before.  I was even invited inside a church to take in the view of the stained glass from the inside, and apparently share instant camera tastes with a child who was also at the church. :). (Good taste, kid!)

Fading (dahlias)

They lasted a long time, and then they were DONE.